Solarthermalworld - Alanod-Solarhttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/taxonomy/term/31611
enGermany: Merger between Alanod and Almeco Fails https://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/germany-merger-between-alanod-and-almeco-fails
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><div><img alt="Alanod-Almeco" class="Image img__fid__10871 img__view_mode__default attr__format__default attr__field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]__Alanod-Almeco attr__field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]__Alanod-Almeco" src="http://solarthermalworld.org/sites/gstec/files/failed_merger.png" title="Alanod-Almeco" typeof="Image" /><strong>Rarely has a press release by German coating specialist Alanod been this short: The statement to take the solar thermal industry by surprise was only three sentences long. “The shareholders of [Alanod Group and Almeco Group] have agreed to utilise the limited opt-out clause till the end of August. Regarding further details, both companies agreed to observe secrecy. For the future, Alanod and Almeco will be competitors again and are respecting each other, in order to continue supplying their customers as a reliable partner on a long-term basis,” it said on 14 August 2014. And rarely has the solar thermal industry had so little knowledge about why a merger failed. <a href="http://solarthermalworld.org/content/germanyitaly-alanod-almeco-merger-between-equals">Alanod-Almeco</a>, with headquarters in Ennepetal, had just been announced three months ago in June, right before the Intersolar Europe conference began.</strong></div>
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<div>Not only has the management of both groups been offering very few details on the merger’s failure. But the clients, the collector manufacturers themselves, have not had any reliable information about its collapse – rather surprising for a small and familiar segment such as the German solar collector industry. After talks with several industry representatives, one possible version of the story behind the failure seems to emerge. </div>
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<div><strong>Merger just strengthened the former small competitors</strong></div>
<div>Multi-source strategies are an important tool for larger collector producers. Because of the merger, several collector manufacturers might have started negotiations and even signed new contracts with smaller coating manufacturers in order to avoid being entirely dependent on a market-dominating supplier such as Alanod-Almeco. Almeco as the junior partner within the newly created group might have suspected sales to drop, as some clients seemed to have had plans to replace Almeco´s absorber plates by plates from a third supplier. This would have been an especially daunting prospect because Almeco benefited from his runner-up position after <a href="http://solarthermalworld.org/content/germany-alanod-purchases-bluetec-and-closes-down-its-factory">Alanod purchased Bluetec</a>, formerly number two on the European coating market, at the beginning of March 2014. Therefore, it was most probably Almeco which hit the brakes and quickly tried to exit the contract. Both partners might have understood that the merger just strengthened the former small competitors.</div>
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<div>This version of the story has not been officially confirmed, and there are some other factors which might have also played a role in the decision, but which have not been taken into account yet. First, the merger was between two family-owned businesses. It meant that experienced businesspeople, who were strongly invested in what they had built up, had to agree on a common sales and marketing strategy, something which might not have been that easy to accomplish overall.</div>
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<div><strong>A Supplier with more than 70 % market share weaken the competitiveness of an industry</strong></div>
<div>Second, there was the lighting industry. Reflective aluminium sheets for lighting systems make up a much higher share of both merger partners’ turnover than absorber sheets for solar collectors. Over several decades, the lighting industry had been very much used to dealing with two major suppliers, Almeco and Alanod. “The lighting industry had more difficulties accepting the merger of their two dominating suppliers than the solar thermal industry, which had been faced with many different supply situations over the last years,” a senior salesperson in the Alanod Group confirmed. Most probably, the lighting industry had been even more surprised by the merger and was understandably shocked by it. </div>
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<div>The collector industry is certainly relieved by the current development: A company supplying key components while claiming a market share of more than 70 % would always weaken the competitiveness of an industry. </div>
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<div>More information:</div>
<div>Almeco: <a href="http://www.almecogroup.com/en">http://www.almecogroup.com/en</a></div>
<div>Alanod Group: <a href="http://www.alanod-solar.com">www.alanod-solar.com</a></div>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-news field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/74751" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-country field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/43941" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Germany</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-keyword field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/56751" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">absorber coating</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-companies field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/31611" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Alanod-Solar</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/companies/almeco-solar" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Almeco Solar</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/companies/alanod-almeco" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Alanod-Almeco</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/24401" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Bluetec GmbH &amp; Co. KG</a></div></div></div><span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 a2a_target addtoany_list" id="da2a_1">
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</script>Tue, 02 Sep 2014 06:51:27 +0000Baerbel Epp63490 at https://www.solarthermalworld.orghttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/germany-merger-between-alanod-and-almeco-fails#commentsGermany/Italy: Alanod-Almeco – Merger between Equals?https://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/germanyitaly-alanod-almeco-merger-between-equals
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<img alt="Logos Alanod Almeco" class="Image img__fid__10471 img__view_mode__default attr__format__default attr__field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]__Logos Alanod Almeco attr__field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]__Logos" src="http://solarthermalworld.org/sites/gstec/files/logos_alanod_almeco.png" title="Logos Alanod Almeco" typeof="Image" /><strong>Just a few days before Intersolar Europe 2014 opened its doors in Munich, Germany, news broke of the merger between the two largest solar coating manufacturers in Europe, the Alanod Group, headquartered in Ennepetal, northern Germany, and the Almeco Group whose headquarters are located in Milano, Italy. The company will be called Alanod-Almeco, with headquarters in Ennepetal. Both partners have confirmed the plans to retain both the sales teams and the entire product offering. However, the facts contradict a merger between equals: Alanod is definitely the larger partner. The company with 460 staff had a turnover of EUR 160 million in 2013, whereas the Almeco Group with its 250 staff achieved a turnover of EUR 75 million last year. The new company will be headed by only one person, Ingo Beyer, CEO of the Alanod Group, and the new logo for Alanod-Almeco only includes the Italian partner’s blue triangle.</strong></div>
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Both groups offer three identical product ranges: selective coatings for solar absorbers made of copper and aluminium, reflectors for the lighting industry and colour-coated aluminium for décor applications. “One larger player has a better standing on the world market than two smaller players,” Gianpaolo Visigalli, Managing Director and 50 % owner of the Almeco Group, explains the need to form a bigger company. “This merger is the only answer to the challenges of the global market in the next 10 years, and it is the right one,” Ingo Beyer, CEO of the Alanod Group and new CEO of the Alanod-Almeco GmbH &amp; Co. KG is quoted in the press release from Monday, 2 June 2014.</div>
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The press release confirms that today’s owners of Almeco, as well as those of Alanod will become joint shareholders of Alanod-Almeco to continue the company’s tradition as a family‐owned business. “We want to challenge the emerging PVD coating industry in China, which is ready to enter the European market, and profit from a stronger purchasing power on the raw material market,” Frank Schoonen, Alanod’s Sales Director, says about the merger. </div>
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<br /><strong>Dominating position in the European coating market</strong></div>
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According to Schoonen, another objective of the merger is “to stabalise the market prices on the selective coating market". This is certainly not good news for the collector industry, because the merged company has a dominating position in the European solar thermal coating market with more than 70 %. Just a few weeks ago, Alanod purchased <a href="http://solarthermalworld.org/content/germany-alanod-purchases-bluetec-and-closes-down-its-factory">competitor Bluetec</a> and shut down its factory. Back in 2012, the Almeco group took over all of Almeco Tinox, a pioneer in selective coating, which was founded by German scientists in the 1990s. The merger has left the market with only two other solar selective coating manufacturers producing and supplying in Europe: Savo-Solar in Finland and ArcelorMittal in Belgium. The new Austrian supplier Calus claims to be ready to mass-produce coatings next year. </div>
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Like the purchase of Bluetec, the new merger is again below the radar of the German competition authority, the Bundeskartellamt, since the turnover of both partners has been below EUR 500 million globally. In case Alanod-Almeco capitalises on its market-dominating position by increasing prices in one market or the other, the industry has only one way to defend its interests: making a complaint against the new company to the national competition authority. The website of the German competition authority explains the two options that the authority has when dealing with market abuse cases: First, it can issue an administrative act ordering the company to reimburse its customers. Or, it can impose fines for regulatory offences. However, the press department of the German competition authority is quick to point out that price-fixing is very difficult to prove and has rarely resulted in penalties in the past.</div>
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<strong>More information:</strong></div>
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German competition authority: <a href="http://www.bundeskartellamt.de/EN/">www.bundeskartellamt.de/EN/</a></div>
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Almeco: <a href="http://www.almecogroup.com/en">http://www.almecogroup.com/en</a></div>
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Alanod Group: <a href="http://www.alanod-solar.com">www.alanod-solar.com</a></div>
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Savo-Solar: <a href="http://www.savosolar.fi">www.savosolar.fi</a></div>
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ArcelorMittal: corporate.arcelormitall.com </div>
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Calus: <a href="http://www.calus.at">www.calus.at</a></div>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-news field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/74751" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-country field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/43941" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Germany</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/43951" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Italy</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/44091" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Finland</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/43931" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Belgium</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/44081" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Austria</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-keyword field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/keyword/intersolar-europe-2014" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Intersolar Europe 2014</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/56751" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">absorber coating</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/keyword/merger" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">merger</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-companies field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/31611" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Alanod-Solar</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/companies/almeco-solar" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Almeco Solar</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/companies/alanod-almeco" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Alanod-Almeco</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/24401" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Bluetec GmbH &amp; Co. KG</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/24551" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Savo-Solar</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/24511" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ArcelorMittal</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/companies/calus" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Calus</a></div></div></div><span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 a2a_target addtoany_list" id="da2a_2">
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Fri, 06 Jun 2014 08:30:00 +0000Baerbel Epp63036 at https://www.solarthermalworld.orghttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/germanyitaly-alanod-almeco-merger-between-equals#commentsGermany: Alanod Purchases Bluetec and Closes Down Its Factoryhttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/germany-alanod-purchases-bluetec-and-closes-down-its-factory
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><div>
<img alt="Alanod" class="Image img__fid__10116 img__view_mode__default attr__format__default attr__field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]__Alanod attr__field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]__Alanod" src="http://solarthermalworld.org/sites/gstec/files/alanod.png" title="Alanod" typeof="Image" /><strong>Since the end of March, the absorber production industry in Europe has had a fairly different look: As of 28 March 2014, Alanod has been the new owner of Bluetec. Both companies are well-known specialists for highly selective absorber coatings for the solar thermal collector industry. Besides providing coated aluminium and copper sheets, they also manufacture and supply highly reflective aluminium for the lighting industry.</strong></div>
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Photo: Alanod</div>
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According to Ingo Beyer, CEO of Alanod, the initiative came from Bluetec management, which contacted Alanod at the beginning of March 2014 to offer the company’s acquisitionby the end of March. After negotiations that lasted for only a couple of weeks, both companies signed the sale agreement on 28 March 2014 – just two days before the international fair Light + Building started in Frankfurt (30 March to 3 April 2014).</div>
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An Alanod press release from 28 March 2014 stated that “Bluetec was unable to follow through with its growth strategy.” Bluetec tripledits production capacity four years ago by installing a second vacuum deposition line in a 4,200 m<sup>2</sup> production plant and office building in the town of Eberschütz. The company had invested a double-digit million Euro sum in the new plant, primarily to process aluminium coils for the lighting industry, whereas the existing vacuum deposition line in the town of Bad Karlshafen focused on highly selective coatings for copper absorbers in solar applications. All of this happened in 2010, at the beginning of the European solar thermal crisis.</div>
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<strong>Closing down production capacities in shrinking markets</strong></div>
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In addition, “LED as a light source for the future gained rapid acceptance and thus replaced traditional lighting solutions using reflector technology,” the Alanod press release names the two reasons why Bluetec’s business had not created the necessary turnover to repay the company’s investment. Accordingly, Beyer also justified the Bluetec acquisition with closing down production capacities in shrinking markets. “It was not a one Euro deal,” Frank Schoonen, Alanod’s Sales Director, confirms. “However, the price was fair and acceptable.”</div>
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None of the four former general managers of Bluetec could provide any more information on the merger. This might be because the sale agreement included a non-compete clause for the former management of Bluetec, so that any kind of statement regarding the situation of their former business might have been impossible for them.</div>
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The around 40 employees of Bluetec at the two company sites in Eberschütz and Bad Karlshafen were informed about the sale during an employee meeting at the same day the contract was signed. Following the signing of the contract, Alanod announced a halt of all business and production activities for the week. The shutdown was then extended for another week. “This break allowed us to evaluate our options – either to shift production capacity to the main company site of Alanod in Ennepetal or to continue production at the former Bluetec sites,” Schoonen explains. It is now clear that Alanod will take over all of Bluetec’s clients, and the product “Eta plus” will continue to be offered on the market, but will now be produced in the Alanod factory in Ennepetal. “The production facilities at Bluetec will be closed, and the current employment contracts will be terminated, inline with the contractually prescribed terms,” Alanod stated in a second press release sent out on 11 April 2014.</div>
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<strong>German competition authority not in charge</strong></div>
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Alanod – already market leader in the solar thermal absorber industry – will again be able to increase its market share after the merger. The German competition authority, the Bundeskartellamt, says it is not in charge of supervising the sale, because both companies combined are below the level of EUR 500 million in worldwide business turnover. Alanod achieved an overall turnover of EUR 160 million in 2013, having 460 employees globally.</div>
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The collector manufacturers, however, are less enthusiastic about the concentration on the coating market. Multi-source strategies are an important tool for larger collector producers, which is why that the third-largest German coating specialist, Almeco Solar, will most likely profit from the merger at the top. The European solar thermal industry will also want to take a closer look at the youngest supplier of selective coating in Europe, Belgium company Arcelor Mitall.</div>
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More information:</div>
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<a href="http://www.alanod.com">www.alanod.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.almecosolar.com/de/">http://www.almecosolar.com/de/</a></div>
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<a href="http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/">http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/</a></div>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-news field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/74751" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-country field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/43941" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Germany</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/43931" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Belgium</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-keyword field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/59601" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">absorber production</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/keyword/selective-absorber-coatings" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">selective absorber coatings</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/keyword/light-building" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Light + Building</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-companies field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/31611" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Alanod-Solar</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/24401" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Bluetec GmbH &amp; Co. KG</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/companies/almeco-solar" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Almeco Solar</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/24511" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ArcelorMittal</a></div></div></div><span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 a2a_target addtoany_list" id="da2a_3">
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Tue, 15 Apr 2014 06:00:00 +0000Baerbel Epp62746 at https://www.solarthermalworld.orghttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/germany-alanod-purchases-bluetec-and-closes-down-its-factory#commentsTaiwan/Germany: Newly Founded Joint Venture for Blue Coatingshttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/taiwangermany-newly-founded-joint-venture-blue-coatings
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><strong><img alt="" class="Image img__fid__5351 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" src="http://www.solarthermalworld.org/sites/gstec/files/styles/large/public/xxantriaalanod.png" typeof="Image" />Until recently, a handful of German manufacturers had practically dominated the market for “blue” selective absorber coatings. Since 1 January 2013, a supplier from Taiwan has now been part of this select group, too: Alanod-Xxentria Technology Materials, headquartered in Tainan. The new company is a joint venture between the German Alanod Group, the worldwide largest producer of absorber sheets coated with PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition), and Xxentria Technology Materials. The latter is a stock-listed company which bought a new PVD coating line with an annual capacity of 8 to 10 million m² from German machinery supplier Von Ardenne Anlagentechnik GmbH one and a half years ago. With it, Xxentria was planning to offer selectively coated absorbers and highly reflective materials to the solar thermal industry. In addition, the new company operates a completely up-to-date anodising line, together with a slitting and cut-to-length facility. The capital invested in Alanod-Xxentria Technology Materials amounts to USD 66 million.</strong></p>
<p>Both partners emphasised the synergy potential of their joint venture in a press release sent out at the end of January: “Xxentria has over 15 years of experience in producing and marketing composite materials, whereas Alanod has the PVD coating background by having been market leader in this field since 1994.” The press release quotes Howard Cheng, General Manager of Xxentria Technology Materials, and Ingo Beyer, CEO of Alanod, as saying that the joint venture marks “an important step in enhancing innovation and productivity in both companies”.</p>
<p>“We will act as two independently operating companies in the market,” confirms Frank Schoonen, Sales Director at Alanod. “We welcome the new production capacity in Asia, which is a strongly growing market for our products, and the Alanod Group will benefit from being present in the area”.</p>
<p>According to the Sales Director, Alanod produced and sold 2.5 million m² of coated material for absorbers and mirrors in solar installations worldwide in 2012, an increase of 14 % compared to the previous year. “Our sales increased mainly in China and a few other countries outside Europe,” explains Schoonen. The supplier for China is Shanghai Alanod-Anometal Solar Technology, a German-Chinese joint venture founded in Shanghai in 2011. “We will continue our current sales strategy in China and there are no plans to exchange sales staff with the newly founded company in Taiwan,” explains Schoonen.</p>
<p>According to the sales Director, it is the <a href="http://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/germany-coil-coating-line-solar-applications">black-lacquer surface </a>which is becoming more and more popular in sun-rich countries outside Europe. Alanod has been applying this new layer of black paint to aluminium plates with a coil-to-coil machine since summer 2010. The coating reaches a relatively lower efficiency of 90 % absorption and 20 % thermal emission rate - compared to an absorption rate of 95 % and an emission rate of 5% with PVD layers. But the surface is better withstanding environmental effects. In a couple of months, the material is said to become available in a blue version as well.</p>
<p>More information:<br /><a href="http://www.alanod-solar.com">www.alanod-solar.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.xxentria-solar.com/en_main_profile.html">http://www.xxentria-solar.com/en_main_profile.html</a><br /><a href="http://www.vonardenne.biz/">http://www.vonardenne.biz/</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-news field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/74751" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-country field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/45701" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Taiwan</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/43941" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Germany</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/45601" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">China</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-keyword field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/49061" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">joint ventures</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/keyword/selective-absorber-coatings" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">selective absorber coatings</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/keyword/pvd-coating" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">PVD coating</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/keyword/black-lacquer-surface" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">black-lacquer surface</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-companies field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/31611" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Alanod-Solar</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/companies/alanod-xxentria-technology-materials" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Alanod-Xxentria Technology Materials</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/companies/xxentria-technology-materials" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Xxentria Technology Materials</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/companies/ardenne-anlagentechnik-gmbh" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Ardenne Anlagentechnik GmbH</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/companies/alanod-anometal-solar-technology" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Alanod-Anometal Solar Technology</a></div></div></div><span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 a2a_target addtoany_list" id="da2a_4">
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Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:41:42 +0000Baerbel Epp59501 at https://www.solarthermalworld.orghttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/taiwangermany-newly-founded-joint-venture-blue-coatings#commentsGermany: Coil Coating Line for Solar Applicationshttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/germany-coil-coating-line-solar-applications
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>
<img tyle=" left" hspace="7" vspace="10" border="0" src="/sites/gstec/files/imce/alanod_solar_fabrikeinweihung.jpg" alt=" inauguration of coating factory at Alanod " align="left" title=" inauguration of coating factory at alanod " /> Inaugurating a EUR 20 million investment: Ingo Beyer, CEO of Alanod-Solar GmbH &amp; Co. KG (left), Christa Thoben, Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Wilhelm Wiggenhagen, Mayor of Ennepetal, are cutting the ribbon together. Photo: Alanod
</p>
<p>
Alanod-Solar, a German manufacturer of selective absorber material, celebrated the opening of a completely new coil-to-coil lacquering line at its headquarters in Ennepetal, Germany, at the beginning of July. All in all, the company invested EUR 20 million into the new building and its 40 m long production line. </p>
<p>This investment opened up a new technology. So far, Alanod-Solar had been specializing in vacuum coating systems (PVD) for selective absorbers or highly reflective coatings, offering sputtered absorber material to the solar heating and cooling sector, as well as highly reflective aluminium material to manufacturers of concentrating solar power plants. Because the mirrors are placed outside a building, they require a transparent lacquer to protect them against corrosion. Up to now, such a production step had involved work sub-contracted to a third company. “With the new coil-to-coil line, we can now offer reflective surfaces that are weatherproof and produced completely in-house,” Wolfgang Peters, Desk Sales Manager, explains. The machinery has an annual capacity of more than 3 million m<sup>2</sup>.
</p>
<p>
<img tyle=" left" hspace="7" vspace="10" border="0" src="/sites/gstec/files/imce/alanod_coil_at_intersolar_2010.JPG" alt=" black painted coil from Ananod at intersolar 2010 " align="left" title=" black painted coil from Ananod at intersolar " /> Black-lacquered absorber coil presented at the Intersolar in Munich, Germany, in June 2010: What is called a “world innovation” is the selective coating with a 90 % absorption and 20 % thermal emission rate if combined with applying the lacquer in a coil-to-coil process at a constant thickness on a maximum width of 1,250 mm. Photo: Bärbel Epp
</p>
<p>
Another application area for of the new lacquering line aims at the world's flat-plate collector industry. Alanod-Solar now offers materials made of aluminium, which also possess the selective lacquer, as was first presented by the company at the Intersolar in Munich in June (see photo above). “According to our knowledge, it is the first time worldwide that selective black lacquer is applied in a coil-to-coil process to aluminium coils being 1,250 mm wide,” stresses Peters.
</p>
<p>
Indeed, it is most common in the international collector industry to apply selective paint only to absorber fins - either by manual spraying or rolling. Maintaining a constant thickness during the painting process, however, is often found hard to achieve, although it is essential for the performance of the finished product. Alanod's new technological breakthrough achieves just that. “We control the thickness of the lacquer in a range of microns,” explains Peters. Of course, such a level of quality level has its price: Mirosol TS is only 10 % more cost-effective than an aluminium sheet with a sputtered surface. The question now to be asked is whether this cost reduction is enough to compete on the world markets with selective painted absorber sheets produced in small workshops.
</p>
<p>
More information:<br /><a href="http://alanod-solar.com">http://alanod-solar.com</a>
</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-news field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/74721" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Product News</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/74751" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-market-sectors field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/74631" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Domestic Hot Water and Heating</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-country field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/43941" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Germany</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-keyword field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/62711" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">selective lacquer</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/53101" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">selective coatings</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/62721" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">coil-to-coil</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-companies field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/31611" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Alanod-Solar</a></div></div></div><span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 a2a_target addtoany_list" id="da2a_5">
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Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:27:57 +0000Baerbel Epp44201 at https://www.solarthermalworld.orghttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/germany-coil-coating-line-solar-applications#commentsGerman Heating Giant presents Selective Absorber Coatinghttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/german-heating-giant-presents-selective-absorber-coating
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>
<img tyle=" left" hspace="7" vspace="10" border="0" src="/sites/gstec/files/imce/viessmann_coatingkl.jpg" alt=" Viessmann manager Stefan Hirzinger (right)” " align="left" title=" Viessmann manager Stefan Hirzinger (right) " /> Viessmann manager Stefan Hirzinger (right) describes the company's new coating as, “one of the best selective coatings available on the market”. The product passed the accelerated life testing under the name Task X. <br />
Photo: Joachim Berner
</p>
<p>
At the beginning of May, Viessmann Werke GmbH &amp; Co KG took the opportunity to demonstrate its in-house development of a selective solar absorber coating during the 20<sup>th</sup> Symposium for Solar Thermal Energy in Bad Staffelstein, Southern Germany. The German producer of heating systems is now one of the very few solar thermal manufacturers worldwide that has all of its production steps done at one and the same factory site in Faulquemont, France: From coating the absorber plate and laser-welding the absorber to manufacturing collectors and tanks.
</p>
<p>
“It is not our objective to apply the new coating to all of our solar absorbers, but instead we will stay with our multi-supplier strategy,” Product Group Manager Stefan Hirzinger said. Viessmann's factory in Faulquemont has the capacities to cover half of the produced collector area with the company's own coating. In addition, it is supplied from two other German coating specialists.
</p>
<p>
Viessmann began its own coating of absorbers in 2005 when the company bought a coating machine from a then insolvent German company. “The main challenge among our development efforts was not only to achieve the optical properties of comparable vacuum coatings, but to arrive at the same blueish appearance,” Hirzinger explained the following, long-lasting research period. Moreover, the team had to later adjust the coating properties to aluminium because the company changed the absorber material in 2008 from copper to the more competitive metal. In Bad Staffelstein, Hirzinger proudly presented the new coating with an absorption coefficient of more than 95% and an emissivity of less than 6%. He did not give detailed information on the specific coating technology and the structure of the coating, only that the material is sputtered onto the absorber coils.
</p>
<p>
<strong>This text was written by Joachim Berner, a German journalist and solar thermal expert.</strong>
</p>
<p>
More information:<br /><a href="http://www.viessmann.de">www.viessmann.de</a>
</p>
<p>
</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-news field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/74751" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-country field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/43941" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Germany</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/44141" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">France</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-keyword field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/62071" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Symposium for Solar Thermal Energy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/62061" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">selective solar absorber coating</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-companies field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/22661" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Viessmann Werke</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/32931" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Ikarus Coatings</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/24401" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Bluetec GmbH &amp; Co. KG</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/31611" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Alanod-Solar</a></div></div></div><span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 a2a_target addtoany_list" id="da2a_6">
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Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:00:00 +0000Baerbel Epp41731 at https://www.solarthermalworld.orghttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/german-heating-giant-presents-selective-absorber-coating#commentsUSA: Alanod enters into a framework agreement about royalties for laser-welded absorbershttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/usa-alanod-enters-framework-agreement-about-royalties-laser-welded-absorbers
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img tyle=" left" hspace="7" vspace="10" border="0" src="/sites/gstec/files/imce/laserschweien_in_nantes_veillant.JPG" alt=" Laser welding of absorbers” " align="left" title=" Laser welding of absorbers " /> In mid-November, Alanod-Solar Inc. and US collector manufacturer Heliodyne signed a framework agreement stipulating the payment of royalties for laser-welded collectors sold in the US. Photo: Vaillant </p>
<p>
The reason behind all this: Heliodyne acquired the right of using US patent 6300591 in January of 2009. This patent by research institute Sandia National Laboratories deals with the laser-welding of absorbers - meaning no company can produce, sell or distribute collectors with laser-welded absorbers in the US without paying royalties to Heliodyne. The news from the US this spring was an unexpected setback for the German collector industry, whose majority of companies now employ laser-welding in their production processes. ”We think it is very unfortunate that a much promising technology will be at a disadvantage on a market before it can even establish itself,“ Stefan Brändle, Alanod-Solar's Consulting Director Solar Applications, remarked back then. The company therefore invited its customers to a meeting in April to discuss which further steps it needs to take.
</p>
<p>
“We entered into the framework agreement with Heliodyne to avoid a situation in which our customers would have to directly notify Heliodyne of their quantities sold in the US,“ Alanod-Solar CEO Ingo Beyer explains the reason for concluding such an agreement. The agreement with the Californian collector manufacturer includes a basic, one-time royalty and a royalty per feet of welding seam. Alanod-Solar, however, has not been willing just yet to make public the amount of royalties it agreed on.
</p>
<p>
“First, we will inform our customers in the US and in Europe and then enter into a written agreement with them about payment conditions,” explains Beyer. “We will simply hand over the royalties – we will not earn anything from them.“ Alanod-Solar had already started operating a laser-welding plant for fin absorbers on its own premises in Cleveland, Ohio, at the beginning of 2009. This means that US companies using these fins have to pay royalties as well.
</p>
<p>
The collector manufacturers' first reaction to the news about finalizing the framework agreement was a reserved one: “We have to wait until after we spoke to Alanod and went through the content of the agreement before we can decide whether to accept the offer or consider alternatives,“ says Stefan Hirzinger, Product Group Manager for solar thermal and photovoltaics at Viessmann. Other manufacturers had no comment at all.
</p>
<p>
Some collector manufacturers with several suppliers of coated absorber sheets may not be pleased about the fact that Alanod-Solar wants to process only collector quantities equipped with their own coated aluminium or copper sheets.
</p>
<p>
More information:<br /><a href="http://www.heliodyne.com/">http://www.heliodyne.com</a>
</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.alanod-solar.com/opencms/opencms/">www.alanod-solar.com/</a>
</p>
<p>
</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-news field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/74731" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Industry News</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/74751" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-country field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/45931" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">USA</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/43941" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Germany</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-keyword field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/51611" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Patent</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/51251" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">laser welding</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-companies field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/22661" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Viessmann Werke</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/24671" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Sandia National Laboratories</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/23391" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Heliodyne</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/31611" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Alanod-Solar</a></div></div></div><span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 a2a_target addtoany_list" id="da2a_7">
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Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0000Baerbel Epp43851 at https://www.solarthermalworld.orghttps://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/usa-alanod-enters-framework-agreement-about-royalties-laser-welded-absorbers#comments